Wrong Turn
by The Halfa Wannabe
Summary: After a prank Naruto takes a wrong turn that will change his life. With abilities that were never meant to be his, a new teacher, and a clan against him, watch as Naruto makes his way from the academy and beyond, still striving for the title Hokage.


The screaming never seemed to end, the pain constant and incredible. The boy's body covered in hundreds of bleeding sores as the insects burrowed through him even as he healed. Even as the sticky fabric they wove over him began to take form.

_The Chuunin chased him through the streets even as the Anbu paced him on either side from the tops of the roofs. They were learning, but so was he. Never changing his pace or the way he was running no one saw it coming when his arm reached out and snagged a pole causing his direction to change sharply before the Anbu on the roofs could react. A wooden wall that was covered in graffiti blocked the alleyway in front of him. At least that's what the two Chuunin saw when they whipped around the corner. They smiled and slowed knowing they had him trapped, his only chance was the roofs, and he wouldn't be able to take to them before the Anbu team had turned. Still he ran, never slowing before he jumped and passed through the hinged flap that was concealed by the stylized orange Konoha leaf covering it. Sometimes being the protectors of a town full of ninja kids just plain sucked. You never knew when you were going to run into another hidden tunnel or seemingly blind alleyway an enterprising student would make._

The man stared for a second before grabbing the screaming child and rushing him to the cold house, a shack kept on the compound with a powerful refrigeration system. It would slow the insects, but not stop them. The breeds they bred were far too resilient to be stopped by mere cold. He regretted the need but he opened the boy's shredded clothes fully exposing him the air and struck a pressure point in his neck knocking him unconscious. Ultimately, it would be the most comfortable he would be until he could speak to the Hokage.

_Naruto laughed as the flap closed. The day had gone perfect. The balloons full of paint had been set to the side for when the council meeting let out. With the clan heads and civilian casualties screaming for his head he raced away looking at the men and women covered in orange paint. His only disappointment was that the old man hadn't been there today. "Eh I'll get him next time." Running around the corner he pulled one of the sheets that he'd learned to prepare in class as he plastered himself against the wall. As expected he heard the Chuunin run past. This was too good. Even though such chases took place several times a year, they still underestimated his ability to be stealthy when the situation called for it. He turned away from the direction they went and started to walk. His attention locked on with a laser like focus as he turned a corner and bumped in a jacketed man still dripping orange paint. His eyes slowly wondered upwards to the sunglasses hiding the emotionless gaze beneath. And that's when Naruto turned and ran again._

Shibi stood staring at the boy before molding his chakra, and vanishing from the compound his family called home. His mind tried to keep up with the sensations the technique put him through, and as usual it failed. Moving at such speeds invariably had that effect. He stood before the Hokage tower and hurried to the office of his superior. Not waiting for the secretary to speak he pushed his way in. The doors banged open interrupting the councilors complaining within. "Hokage-sama. It's Naruto." His voice maintained the cool tones his clan was famous for.

"Yes, Shibi. I've already heard. I'll make sure he's"

"No. He's injured. While running away he ventured into our compound. He crashed through several different colonies. As we speak they try to bond with him."

The Hokage stood in a flash and with a single hand seal deposited both himself and the Aburame in front of The Aburame clan's main building. The clan head's thoughts swirled even as he led the Hiruzen to the cold house._ 'God of Shinobi indeed. To pull off a ranged Shunshin while avoiding taking the other councilors with him, I wish I could've seen him in his prime.'_

"How far along is the bonding?"

"Too far. Unless he fully bonds with the colonies inside of him they will devour him from the inside out."

The Hokage quirked his eyebrow, never showing the panic he felt in his heart for the boy. "Colonies? How many?"

"At least two. One Kikaichou colony, and a strain of spiders we've been breeding. I did not have time to check if he has more."

The ancient Sarutobi looked at him._ 'The Aburame specialize in hives, but spiders are solo hunters, what have they been up to?'_ Ignoring that line of thought he asked the most logical question he could at the moment. "Is there anything to be done?"

Shibi looked to the ground while he collected his thoughts. "On the rare occasion our children cannot be bonded with their hives, we have been known to extract the queens. The process is, taxing though."

"What aren't you telling me?" He asked as they entered the room the boy slept within. His skin was pale from the cold.

"The process is, harmful. To extract the queens we must dig into the chakra center. It destroys the ability to effectively regulate their own chakra. To do so, would end his ninja career before it even began." Shibi looked down to the ground in sorrow. "And the colonies will die."

The old man stopped. He, like most of the boy's teachers and classmates had heard his dream. _'To take that away from him, to take the choice away from him, would be an unbearable crime, more burdensome than those that had already been heaped upon him by his home and family.'_ Sarutobi released a deep breath. "Will you teach him?"

The Aburame took a moment before answering. Structuring his thoughts. "If he can learn, we will teach. It is for the good of our sisters within him, and the boy himself, though I warn you, his mind might not be able to take the strain of communication with them."

The old man looked down at the boy. A thin weave of polymers was starting to cover his face. "It has to be his decision. We must wake him."

"That might be a bad idea, the pain will be excruciating, while the cold slows them for a while. The veil between conscious and unconscious is all that shields him from his pain right now."

"Perhaps, but Naruto must have a hand in his own destiny. Choice is the greatest gift we mortals have. Wake him."

Shibi silently apologized to the boy before punched the point to reverse his condition.

Naruto woke screaming as the bugs within burrowed through his chakra network, preparing their new host, their new hive. The queens inside fought for dominance even as the powerful chakra within started to intertwine queen and host.

Naruto's eyes shone with tears even as he stared at the men above him, with a monumental effort he silenced his screams, his throat hoarse he asked. "What's happening?"

The old man looked at him sadly for a second before he steeled himself. "There's no time to explain, right now you must decide your fate. Two paths lie before you, your ninja career either ends now, today, and your life will be spared, or, you choose to take your life in your hands, you might die today, tomorrow your mind might be shattered, but your life as a ninja might still go on."

The boy stared at him through pain filled eye. "I'll," he panted, "never give up. I will be Hokage. I swear it!" he screamed out even as his new teacher reached behind him and stabbed the pressure point once more." Shibi gathered the child to his chest and took him out of the refrigerated shack and into the warmth of the sun.


End file.
